I went to CNCH (the Conference of Northern California Handweavers) over the weekend, and had a wonderful time meeting old friends and making new ones, strolling through the galleries and marketplace, and taking a spinning class with Gwen Powell. And I came home with two prizes! My musk ox scarf won second place in its category, and “Goodbye, Ma” (the phoenix) came in third in a different category. (BothÂ awards were “People’s Choice”, voted for by the people who visited the galleries.) So I now have two prize baskets, in addition to my Marketplace purchases.

The prize baskets were donated by members of the Del Oro Weavers’ Guild, so a big thank you to them for their generosity!

Since some of the items in the baskets are duplicates of things I already own, I’ll probably be passing them on to other people in my guilds. Must share the loot, after all.

I’m also making progress on the threading:

half threaded warp on the TC-2

I’m also thinking about what to do next, in terms of supporting myself financially. There are two obvious sets of choices, but I’m trying to open up to new opportunities. A point made in one of the TED talks I’ve been listening to struck me as cogent to my situation: If you are surrounded by people who think one way, you will tend to think the same way. Most of my friends either work in the software/high-tech industry, or in textile art. In software, the obvious money-earning choices for me are: be a project manager at a high-tech company, be a contractor at the same, or start your own software company. In textiles, the dominant paradigms are either selling your work or teaching in your craft. I do not feel that any of those options are the best ones for me. But because almost all my friends live in one world or the other, it’s been hard to see the other options. So I have been actively trying to expand my worldview.

What do those possibilities look like? Well, in addition to a project manager, I’m also a writer. I could make money by creating a subscription-based website, writing and teaching about the creative process. I could contract as a ghost writer, or an editor. I could combine my project management skills with my writing experience to coach people through their writing process. I could teach chocolatiering. And so on. Having skills in many different fields opens up a lot of possibilities. And not just the typical opportunities in each field, but opportunities that arise from combining those skills to create an entirely new niche. My plan is to generate a bunch of ideas in the next week or two, then narrow it down in late April. I’ll start seriously researching the best ideas in early May.

I’m not expecting to make a ton of money at the outset. I expect to spend about half my time doing pretty mundane contracting to bring in cash. But I want to work on developing something new, something that aligns with my values and the things I enjoy doing. It will be very interesting to see what grows out of this.

First, I got a mysterious package forwarded from my old address in San Francisco.Â When I opened it up, there was a copy of Warp with a Trapeze and Dance With Your Loom!Â Kati Meek recently reprinted this wonderful little book, and had asked me to provide a blurb for the back cover.Â I happily did, as it was one of the most useful books of weaving tips that I’ve found, but I didn’t expect my own copy of the reprinted edition!

So here it is:

Warp with a Trapeze

The two big items in the book are how to warp with a trapeze, and using the live-weight tension system.Â The trapeze allows you to beam onto a plain beam much much faster than using the walk-around-and-tug warp tensioning method, and the live-weight tension system gives you perfect and completely even warp tension, which ratchet-and-pawl brake systems do not.Â (Live-weight is also much less fuss than a ratchet-and-pawl system; you don’t ever have to touch it after setting it up, just advance the warp and keep weaving!)

At any rate, I have not seen these methods discussed in any other book (which doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t discussed it, just that I haven’t found it in anything in my library), and those two tips have been completely invaluable, so I recommend the book highly.Â Kati is selling it on her website, katimeek.blogspot.com.Â I think it’s only $19.95.

The second surprise was my CNCH prize ribbon!Â Apparently they had some printing problems so the Fashion Show ribbons didn’t arrive in time.Â Since I won Best in Show, I figured I’d get something fairly nice – but I was NOT expecting this big-huge-enormous ribbon:

"Best in Show" CNCH prize ribbon

(The squares in the background are 1″ squares.Â This thing is GYNORMOUS!!!)

So I am pretty pleased about that.Â I will have to find some place to display it in my studio!

And, finally, dye samples.Â I am pretty pleased about those too – no prize ribbons, but lots and lots of gorgeous silk yarn!

Here’s what I’ve done so far (you’ll have to click on the little photo to get a legible larger version):

Dye samples, Sabraset dyes at about 4% DOS

Mostly it’s 4% DOS (4 grams of dye for every 100g of yarn), but the last two samples are interesting – one is dyed at 4% and the other at 2%.Â The one at 2% has somewhat brighter colors, but the one at 4% has deeper, more intense colors.Â I’m still on the fence about whether I want to dye most of my samples at 4%, or compromise between the two depths and dye at 3%.

The samples are temporarily threaded through strips of poster board with the names of the dyes and depth-of-shade marked on them.Â A weaving pal of mine, Ginny, has very graciously agreed to wind the samples onto floss bobbins for me (much to my relief!), and the finished samples will look like this:

Finished samples, violet to turquoise

I’m VERY pleased with how the samples are turning out.Â I’ve already discovered several shades that I hadn’t mixed successfully before!Â Can hardly wait to dye more.

It turns out that I took quite an array of prizes: my “Black Jewel” and “Ocean Sunset” shawls took first and second place in the accessories division, my “Lava Flow” scarf won second place in the neckwear division, and my wedding-dress won…ta-daaa…Best in Show in the Fashion Show!

I can’t resist sharing some photos of the winning pieces.Â The ribbons, which are amazing, were woven by the equally amazing Lillian Whipple, Mistress of Fine Threads:

"Black Jewel" shawl - first place, accessories division"Ocean Sunset", second place in the accessories division"Lava Flow", second place in the neckwear division

I am very proud of having won ribbons with everything I entered, and of course “Best in Show” for the dress.Â More important, I think people really appreciated the dress…I saw a lot of people oohing and aahing over the exhibit, reading my little one-pager about the dress, or reading the photo book on the making of the dress.Â And at times it felt like every single person at the conference had stopped to compliment me on the dress!Â I must say, it was wonderful (if a little overwhelming) to get so much positive feedback on the piece.

The curator of the San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum was also at the show – I asked the folks at the SJQT Museum booth to ask her if she’d be interested in the dress after the dust settles, haven’t heard anything, may try to find her at the show tomorrow if she’s there.

Finally, I got a chance to see Kati Meek’s new printing of “Warp with a Trapeze and Dance with Your Loom” (an excellent book, incidentally).Â She had asked me to write a blurb for the back cover, and I was of course honored to do so.Â But I didn’t realize she’d actually printed it!

"Warp with a Trapeze", with my blurb on the back cover

Finally, here’s a gallery of (a) my little wedding-dress exhibit (amazing how much better the dress/coat look when properly mounted!), and (b) the many amazing pieces at the show.

Apparently I got at least two Certificates of Excellence already 🙂 , as I’m told I won two ribbons at CNCH for the shawls I brought.Â I didn’t make it down to the galleries yesterday, but I’m assuming that means “Ocean Sunset” and “Black Jewel” won awards – there was a major flaw in “Lava Flow” that I didn’t bother correcting before the show (had bigger fish to fry).Â The dress is being judged this morning, and I can hardly wait to get the results!

However, that’s not the Certificate of Excellence I was thinking of.Â I’m thinking quite seriously about going for HGA’s Certificate of Excellence in Handweaving, 2012 judging.Â That would give me two years to study a wide array of techniques and weave 40 samples.Â I think I could probably do it in a year, if I worked at it the way I did on the dress, but two years will let me finish in a reasonably leisurely fashion.Â (I think.)Â At any rate, the judging is only in even numbered years, so like it or not, I’ve got two years.Â 🙂

The point of going for the COE is not to get the certification; I mean, it would be nice, but I’m not planning on making a living teaching weaving, and outside of that the credential doesn’t matter a whole lot.Â But, weaving 40 samples in such a wide variety of weaving techniques will give me a rough idea of what can be done with weaving, which I think will be helpful to my development as a serious fiber artist.Â Must know what arrows are in the quiver!

The COE also contains some basic sections on design, so it overlaps with my needs there as well.Â So I think I will at least work through the samples, and if I pass the examination in two years, great! and if not, I’ll still have achieved my primary goal, which is to get a broad overview of weaving.

There are alternates to the COE – there’s a Canadian certification that also sounds good, but as the certification requires that you work on a conventional treadle loom for the first few sections, I wouldn’t be able to get the certificate at the end of my study.Â That’s not a deal-breaker, but it is a major consideration, as the piece of paper is nice to have.

I’m still considering doing in-depth study on a particular topic instead (most likely doubleweave), and will explore that as well, but as I think about it more and talk to more and more people, the COE is looking like the strongest possibility.

Oh, CNCH?Â Yes, it’s been going very well.Â The class I’m taking, “Software, Structure, and Design”, is moving more slowly than I’d like – primarily because I already spent a week or so investigating designing double two-tie unit weaves using weaving software – but today should cover some topics I haven’t already studied, so I’m looking forward to it!Â And the Fashion Show went well!Â I heard a collective gasp from the audience when I stepped out on stage, and collected many accolades afterwards.Â People said it looked fantastic.Â I must confess, though, that I was so nervous I can’t remember much about it.Â But at least I didn’t trip, and it was a fun experience despite the nervousness.

But the real fun at CNCH is all the people I got to meet!Â I had dinner with Daryl Lancaster on Thursday night – I’ve been reading her blog for months now so it was nice to meet her in person- and met Robyn Spady, Kati Meek, Joanne and Ed Hall of Glimakra, and oh! lots and lots of other weavers whose names I’ve seen constantly on mailing lists and in weaving literature.Â It was wonderful getting to put faces to names and meet people with whom I’ve been corresponding for months now.Â So I was and am very excited about that.

Today I expect to make it down to the galleries at lunchtime, so I’ll be able to get photos of the dress and coat in situ.Â They’ve got a nice display – a small area cordoned off to prevent people from touching it, and a table for my flyers and photo book.Â The dress and coat are displayed on those mannequins I spent so much time making.Â Should look fabulous.Â I’ll also post photos of some of the phenomenal work on display there – photography, fortunately, is allowed in the galleries.Â While I haven’t seen the galleries yet, I saw a fantastic piece of yardage by Lillian Whipple during gallery setup on Thursday, and I’m eager to go back for a closer look.Â Lillian, of course, is the mistress of fine-thread weaving, and she wove up a piece in sunset colors from 120/2 silk.Â It’s like gossamer.Â Must check it out, and the other pieces too!!!

The Conference of Northern California Handweavers is coming up April 25-27, and I’m signed up for the Sharon Alderman workshop on designing fabrics.Â The instructions/description for the workshop read like this:

Each participant must come with an idea about a fabric she/he wants to design. Be as specific as possible, use sketches, photos, commercial sewing patterns. Â If the design is for table linens, bring the plate/cup and saucer you will use with them. Â If the design is for a skirt fabric for a particular jacket, bring the jacket. Â For upholstery, bring photos, sketches, swatches of paint, carpet etc.

Each participant will design a different fabric. Â This is not a round robin workshop.

Weavers intending to design fabric to wear ought to bring a selection of yarns toward the finer side: cotton (16/2 or finer), cottolin (22/2), linen (20/2 or finer), wool (2/20 worsted or woolen spun yarns 1000 ypp or finer, and/or silk. Â Obviously the choice of fibers is influenced by the climate and when the garment will be worn. Â The yarns may be textured or plain, single fiber or blends. Â Bring a variety of colors if possible. Â Don’t forget neutrals and if, for example, blue is your choice, bring several blues.

This is a good time to bring out odds and ends; they will be sufficient for sampling, even small amounts are useful as accents. Â Think about the possibility of swapping with other participants to increase the pool of available yarns.

Since I have decided to design for a putative wedding dress, I’m thinking about what I have in stash that would be appropriate.Â Silk, of course (what else?!).Â I’d like to use the Lao silks if possible, mainly for sentimental reasons (I really loved my stay in Laos and would like to work it into something special).Â But I have plenty of 30/2, 60/2, and 140/2 silk on hand, plus some 2/26 Nm 75/25 cashmere/silk that would also be yummy.Â No problems there.

Pattern-wise, I have something fairly complex in mind.Â The sewing pattern itself is simple, Butterick 4732:

It’s basically an over-robe over a very simple spaghetti-strap gown.

The gown does not interest me; I’ve done that particular style several times over while doing AIDS Lifecycle costumes.Â I’d be fine with doing that in a commercial fabric.

But the over-robe!Â Now THAT has potential.

What I would like to do is an overall pattern of eternity knots for the body of the robe, then add a ribbonlike border along the neckline and front edges of the gown with woven Chinese double-happiness symbols.Â The eternity knots would be woven in something relatively subdued (cream against white? tussah against white?), and the double-happiness symbols would be something brighter, perhaps a metallic gold yarn on white silk.

Anyway, this is obviously a pretty complex undertaking, which is why I want Sharon’s advice and insight on this.

I am thinking that since the ribbonlike border will likely be woven separately, and will be very narrow, the selvages will probably wind up looking awful.Â (I’m not that experienced a weaver!)Â It might make more sense to warp up with a very lightweight silk, like a 140/2 or 60/2, for the selvages and use a thicker silk for the main warp.Â This way IÂ can tuck the selvages under without adding a lot of bulk.

I am not sure about the yarn weight.Â The pattern calls for dupioni, lightweight brocade, and/or linen, which suggests either a 60/2 or a 30/2 silk would be appropriate – 60/2 if I’m doing a satin weave and 30/2 if a weave with fewer interlacements.Â The Lao silk is about the weight of a 60/2, I think, though it varies so widely that it’s hard to measure accurately.Â I think this would work out nicely for a single row of double-happiness symbols (the threading repeat is about 50 ends).Â But colors and structures and yarns, oh my!Â There’s so much to think about and so many variables that I want some advice.

So I am going through my stash, seeing what might be appropriate, and trying to separate out/cone up some appropriate yarns to bring along.Â (I will probably do some dyeing in prep for the workshop, too.)Â I’d prefer not to bring a giant box of yarns since Sophie-the-loom is coming with me to CNCH, and she’s quite a load to bring along.Â I did think about borrowing a small table loom, but I really want to design for a “real” project, and for what I have in mind that pretty much means all 24 shafts.

But what the heck…I will also be bringing a warping board (for other students to use), my AVL warping wheel, two bobbin winders, shuttles, pirns, and a partridge in a pear tree, so what’s one box of yarns on top of that?Â Thank goodness CNCH is close by enough to drive!

Coat-wise, I have finished tailor-basting the interface to the right front, have sewn down the twill tape on the right front lapel, and am starting to padstitch my first lapel.Â It’s small and detailed handwork, but I’m enjoying it.Â But tomorrow night I have set aside to work on Weavolution, so I probably won’t make much more progress until Tuesday.